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review
£47.99
VERDICT:
Good quality tyre that offers grip and puncture protection but lacks the suppleness to be fast too
Weight:
269g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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If you're looking for extra grip, puncture protection and reliability, the Michelin Power All Season is a good bet. However, if you want to keep up with the winter racers on your group ride and post a few speedy outings on Strava yourself during the dark months, there are faster all-season tyres out there.
- Pros: Grippy, reliable, easy to fit
- Cons: On the heavy side, lacks suppleness, not the fastest all-season tyre, no tubeless option
Michelin's headline claim for the Power All Season is that it offers 15 per cent more grip over its predecessor, the Pro4 Grip. It uses a rubber compound simply called 'Grip Compound' that is intended to work with a tread pattern called 'Hi Grip Design' to keep you rubber side down on slippery, dirty or wet surfaces.
> Find your nearest dealer here
It is also claimed to be 20 per cent more puncture resistant than the Pro4 Grip thanks to a new aramid Protek+ belt.
Since the Pro4 Grip is no longer available, probably more relevant is how it compares to the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season, which is for many riders the benchmark winter tyre and the one I was riding on my winter bike before this test (full review to come).
Our 25mm Michelins were a smidge under their claimed weight of 270g on the road.cc Scales of Truth, but 30g per tyre heavier than the equivalent Contis. The casing is considerably thicker and less supple between the fingers, even though the compound itself feels tacky to the touch, and the sidewalls, too, felt more reinforced. This is as you'd expect: Michelin uses three layers of 60tpi casing for the Power All Season, while the GP 4 Seasons have three layers at a finer 110tpi each (Conti cheekily claiming 330tpi).
Since tubeless-ready rims and tyres with slightly varying diameters can play havoc with simply getting a tyre over the rim, I'm pleased to report that the Michelin All Seasons went onto a tubeless-ready DT Swiss R460 rim with thumbs only, and pinged into place nicely during inflation. They have rotation direction indicators to stop you fitting them 'backwards', but most people agree that a bike needs to go very fast indeed in the wet before sipings are necessary, and also that it's the compound that sticks a tyre to the tarmac rather than the tread pattern.
When mounted the Michelins measured 26mm, slightly narrower than the Continentals, probably because of the more rigid sidewalls.
Performance
I took them around my favourite test loop, which consists of a bit of everything – potholey lanes, a couple of sharp kicker hills, plus some fast main roads.
One of the first things I noticed was that the front tyre was noisy, as if it was having to be peeled from the road, which suggests the sticky compound is generating extra friction as well as extra grip. My impression over several weeks of testing on otherwise identical setups is that the Michelin Power All Season needs more energy to drive it than the GP 4 Season.
Despite the thicker, less supple casing, the ride quality was fine at 100psi. The grippy tread is able to soak up small vibrations without the carcass deforming, but it loses out to more supple tyres with a higher tpi count on rougher roads.
> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best winter tyres for cycling
As for the grip, it was as good as Michelin claims and I was totally confident in the Power All Seasons. If you're not wearing a motorcycle helmet and leathers you don't go right to the edge of traction to find out where the breakaway point it, but on a slimy and tree-covered bend that local riders always take very cautiously I didn't feel any hint of slippage. Likewise, on the little-ring slopes I didn't get rear-wheel spin at all out of the saddle.
After a few rides, but admittedly not a full winter's worth, I haven't punctured and there are no cuts in the tread, so I'm as satisfied as it's possible to be that the Power All Seasons offer good protection. I can't yet comment on their durability: even though a soft, sticky tread surely can't be the hardest wearing, signs are good so far.
Value
At £47.99 the Michelin Power All Season tyres are cheaper than the Continental GP 4 Seasons, which retail at £54.95 each, and the very supple 320tpi Vittoria Corsa Control G2.0 (275g) is priced to go head to head with Conti at £54.99. However, the Michelin Power All Season is more expensive than the Pirelli P Zero 4S, which costs £43 and has a thread count of 127tpi and weighs 220g.
In summary, the Michelin Power All Season tyres with their sticky compound are reassuringly grippy, offer good puncture protection and are reasonably priced, but because of the heavier, less supple carcass their rolling speed suffers.
Verdict
Good quality tyre that offers grip and puncture protection but lacks the suppleness to be fast too
road.cc test report
Make and model: Michelin Power All Season tyre
Size tested: 700x25
Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Michelin says the Power All Season is for training in all weathers: it allows you to maintain maximum grip in all weather conditions.
Michelin says, "The Michelin Power All Season Road Bike Tyre is the grippiest tyre in the Michelin Power range and provides unrivalled grip in difficult conditions.
"Experts at the firm's Technology Centre focused particularly on the rolling resistance, grip and resistance to perforation of the products that make up the new range with a view to ensuring even longer tyre life.
"The new range also stands out for the unrivalled performance it delivers thanks to some major innovations and through the fact that it was engineered to meet the demands of the most exacting cyclists."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
According to Michelin, the Power All Season has:
15% more grip (over its predecessor, the Pro4 Grip) for increased safety on slippery, dirty or wet surfaces thanks to the new generation Hi-Grip Design tread pattern and the Grip Compound rubber.
20% more puncture resistance on the crown (compared to the Pro4 Grip) thanks to the new Aramid Protek+ aramid fibre reinforcement.
5 watt gain per pair of tyres (compared to the Pro4 Grip) which is 20 seconds over 40 km at an average speed of 45kph.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Very well made, clearly a good quality tyre.
Rate the product for performance:
7/10
It scores for grip and puncture resistance but loses marks for speed.
Rate the product for durability:
7/10
I haven't had a chance to find out how durable it is in the long term, but the signs are that it will wear well – although a soft and grippy compound may not be the longest lasting.
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
6/10
I hoped these would be on a par weight-wise with the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season (235g), but they were almost 30g more per tyre.
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
8/10
The grippy tread soaked up road vibrations well, but on bigger bumps the carcass lacks suppleness.
Rate the product for value:
5/10
Value is average. Since we last reviewed the Michelin Power All Season in 2016 it has gone from £33 to £47.99.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
It performed well for grip, and although puncture resistance can't always be easily quantified, the carcass feels robust enough to be able to withstand quite a lot.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
The grippiness supplies extra confidence for winter riding when the roads can be dry in one place but wet and slimy in another, and good puncture resistance hopefully means not stopping in the freezing cold or, even worse, making your riding mates stop in the freezing cold.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
It's heavy and the carcass is rigid with a low tpi count, making it slower than suppler, lighter competitors.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
It's cheaper than the Continental GP 4 Season, which retails at £54.95, and the very supple 320tpi Vittoria Corsa Control G2.0 (275g) is priced to go head to head with Conti at £54.99. However, the Michelin Power All Season is more expensive than the Pirelli P Zero 4S, which costs £43 and has a thread count of 127tpi and weighs 220g, and the Panaracer Race C Evo 3, 240g, tpi unknown.
Did you enjoy using the product? It gave me peace of mind.
Would you consider buying the product? No
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes, if they were looking for a grippy tyre and weren't bothered about speed.
Use this box to explain your overall score
For riders who are looking for extra grip in the wet, these tyres with their sticky compound are a good option. However, the carcass is rigid, the sidewalls stiff and the weight on the high side, meaning they're not the fastest in the all-season category.
About the tester
Age: 50
I usually ride: Racer Rosa custom alu My best bike is: Colnago Master Olympic
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, school run on a tandem
Latest Comments
- Rendel Harris 2 hours 59 min ago
And a Happy Christmas to you, road.cc staff!
- Rendel Harris 3 hours 46 min ago
The odds of not being able to find a single pedestrian - just one, note, "any pedestrian" - in an area containing more than about ten of them who...
- Bungle_52 4 hours 5 min ago
It's actually not too bad at the moment. I suspect the shared sections will become a nightmare in summer though. It stops before it gets into the...
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I love how wannabe racer reviewers talk about fork flex under braking like their tyres are made of glue. I find traction gives long before fork flex.
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All children should be locked in their rooms with a playstation to avoid causing a nuisance to the NIMBYs, curmudgeons and gammons. When they get...
- hawkinspeter 6 hours 33 min ago
They don't make them like they used to
- LongitudeLatitude 7 hours 23 min ago
Thanks for using my picture of chocolate in your opening picture. The original can be found here, chocolate! | LongitudeLatitude | Flickr.
- lesterama 7 hours 50 min ago
Fair comments. I'll put my hands up and say I got the wrong end of the stick with this one. ¡Feliz navidad! Here's a pic for the season of goodwill.
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A trip down memory lane (or street) for me - Harry Quinn's bike shop was at the top of our Street and I used to spend time staring at the bikes and...
- Bigtwin 8 hours 10 min ago
Because people aren't buying those cars. They are effecively renting them on PCPs or via companies. The bike market doesn't work like that.
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9 comments
Never got on with the Pro4 Endurance, bought them to replace my Vredesstein Senso xtreame as they were on offer from Decathlon. Got too many punctures with them and about four or five on the front, I gone back to the xreame and have had 12 months of puncture free cycling.
I too have long been a fan of the Michelin Pro4 Endurance, a tyre that seems to break all the rules. But be warned when buying "old" stock; they will probably be at least 3 years old and time had not been kind to those I looked at in our LBS. When flexed in my hands their surfaces were already crazed and cracked, I guess storage conditions had allowed deterioration to begin.
And, as Simon says above, the new Krylion is a direct and worthy replacement, if you can find them.
I got Pro 4 Endurance from Decathlon for £24.99 each. Very happy with them. No punctures so far.
I switched from Power All-Seasons back to Pro 4 Endurance recently. The All-Seasons felt a bit slippery if that's the right way to put it, in contrast I have more confidence when riding on the Pro 4 Endurance
THIS!!!!
Never seen anyone else mention this, ever! A few years back I had a pair of kinesis crosslights which I tried to pair with Michelin pro4 endurance. This was the first time I'd used this tyre and thankfully, it was around 5 or 6 months until it punctured (loved it until then). 45 minutes at the side of the road trying to get them on/off...multiple tubes with a snakebite...never had anything else like it. Same every time after that I got a puncture...it was awful.
Took me a while to realise what the issue was. Since then I've had a few tubeless ready wheelsets and the same thing has happened to varying degrees, the latest being trying to get a set of durano pluses on to two seperate tubeless ready wheelsets. Now these were hard(ish) tyres to get on 6 years back on 'normal' wheels...with the wider, tubeless ready ones I couldn't do it. Or rather, had I perservered I may have done it but would never, ever had been able to repeat it at the side of the road no doubt in rainy, cold weather and in the dark. Not worth the risk.
Anyway, kudos to the reviewer for mentioning this
Interesting review. It appears that these tyres aren't as good as their predecessor, the Pro 4 Endurance.
Now those were fantastic tyres which had it all, tough, grippy and rolled well. They could be used all year round and personally they never let me down. The cycling media agreed with me on this:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/tyres/michelin-pro4-endurance-tyres
https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/road-bike-reviews/michelin-pro-...
I think Decathlon still have some of the Pro 4 Endurances in stock.
The Endurance are still available, rebadged as Krylion 2. Bicycle Rolling Resistance compared them and the Krylion appears to be the same tyre in all but name. It is the nicest year-round tyre I've tried. If I hadn't got hold of 28mm Duranos (which are to be discontinued in 2020) for £18 each at Halfords I would have stumped up for the Krylions (~£30 each).
I used to really like those tyres however the last few pairs I've bought have cut up really quickly...admittedly on a notorious section of bike path.
Yep they're still available in decathlon
The predecessor of the Power All Season was actually the Pro 4 Grip, which was heavier/probably slower than the Pro 4 Endurance. There is now a Power Endurance to update the Pro 4 Endurance. I haven't ridden those yet but according to Bicycle Rolling Resistance the old ones are faster, so you get them while you still can!